Nora Catherine – Lavishly Original Jewelry Made from Semi-Precious Stones
Spiral cut quartz crystal with powder blue faceted glass and bali silver; Saraphinite, freshwater pearls, bali and sterling silver—this sounds so luxurious and wildly creative as a piece of art and jewelry. These vivid descriptions belong to the jewelry of artist/designer Nora Brown of Nora Catherine Jewelry. Nora’s jewelry is one-of-a-kind art that should be displayed in a gallery, not just around somebody’s neck. In fact, that’s how I saw one of these stunning necklaces for the first time, around Nora’s neck at L.A. Fashion Week. She was volunteering, and seated me before a show. I couldn’t help but admire the lavish piece of art adorning her neck, and asked her where she got it. “It’s mine. I designed it,” she said.
What is a talented jewelry designer/artist doing seating guests at a fashion show? As it turns out, several up-and-coming designers find their way volunteering at fashion events. They can take their pick from working the design suites, or seating guests at the runway shows. Their reasoning: volunteering gives them an opportunity to network and get a jump on the next season’s trends. In Nora’s case, she went to Los Angeles to get the experience at this level at Fashion Week. She actually had her jewelry in Portland Fashion Week, which is a much smaller event, and since Los Angeles is much bigger, making contacts and meeting people was imminent—a win-win situation.
I met so many people and just soaked it all in. I also gained the experience of working on an
amazing fashion show. So I bought a ticket, hopped on a plane, came from Portland just to volunteer. The experience that I had at Fashion Week was nothing but good. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to work the shows, meeting people, just being around the clothing. Some of the pieces just put me in awe. Makes me want to work with some of these people some day. The whole experience was just amazing. I am so glad I came.
At a young age, Brown took clothing apart and figured out how to make patterns. She sewed a lot of her own clothes and wanted to put some beads on a collar.
I had an old vintage garment, took the beads off and re-sewed them on, and just got really fascinated with the beads themselves. I’m self-taught so I looked at books, and other pieces of jewelry . . . things like the magazines, and I kind of went from there. I did a lot of stitching, like bead embroidering.
Being self-taught, was that difficult for you to get the hang of it?
Being self-taught is actually the way I learn the best in my music, in my designing. I’m pretty much a self-taught person.
So you’re also a musician?
I’m kind of a musician. I play the piano. My mom’s a music teacher—it runs in my family, but it’s just for fun .
Tell me about your jewelry. You’re wearing one of your pieces?
Yes, I am wearing one of my own pieces. My jewelry comes from the beads themselves. My inspiration comes from the stones. I love working with natural crystals, mineral formations, [and] fossils. I have a stonecutter that I’ll give a raw piece of stone and I’ll have him cut it exactly the way I want it. So each piece is most of the time a one-of-a-kind work of art.
What are the stones that you use?
I work with quartz crystal, garnets, smoky quartz, some amber—a lot of semi-precious stones, whatever works really well with the pendants or the design. I don’t sketch anything in advance. It just kind of has to come to me. It’s kind of unplanned how they’re going to turn out.
What’s your formula for selling? How do people know about your jewelry?
I sell my jewelry through a few local boutiques in Portland, Oregon. I used to own my own boutique, [but now] I am focusing on getting my jewelry in boutiques and local department stores. I do have a website, but I am focusing more on other boutiques.
So you have your jewelry in boutiques now. Which ones?
Dragonlily in Portland; and after I update my portfolio, I will be meeting with Saks in Portland. They are very interested in my work.
As a self-starter jewelry designer, was it difficult to set up your own boutique, and to get your jewelry into the boutiques they are in now?
I think that it was mostly difficult to really know the direction that I wanted to go. I met with a couple of boutiques, and finding the right atmosphere was the biggest key for me.
What’s the process of actually putting together a piece of jewelry, like the one you’re wearing now?
I’d go into the rock shop, and find a raw piece of stone or a finished pendant or a bead that I really love. It has to catch my attention. And then I’ll take that particular component and match it up with other beads. Sometimes it will take months or even years. It will sit there until the right thing comes along. Once I find the right components, I’ll just start playing. If it doesn’t look right—because I don’t sketch it out in advance—it just has to feel right. So I’ll just play. I’ll usually start with a pendant and work my way out to the back and then finish it off. It’s really just the feel, my mood, and what I’m going through at the time.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I would love to hook up with clothing designers. I kind of got the fashion show bug in Portland. I’ve done a couple of fashion shows. I’d love to expand a little bit. Maybe go to L.A. and hook up with some great clothing designers, on top of doing the department stores.
Highest High
My highest high as a jewelry designer was when I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue, and they fell in love with the piece I was wearing and wanted me to come back and show my jewelry—that was totally unplanned. That was pretty big for me. So I am currently working on getting my portfolio re-shot. Most of my shots were done at Fashion Week, and they just don’t work well for a portfolio. That was a big one for me. And definitely coming to L.A. and experiencing this Fashion Week was really amazing, as well.
Lowest Low
Making the decision to close my boutique. It was a low, but it was also a high because it freed me up to just focus on being a designer. It was something I really enjoyed doing . . . and was something I really wanted to try, and it was a great experience. So I don’t really think of it as a total loss.
It probably helped you in the retail aspect of things.
It did. It put me right in there with the clients, and my possible clients. I learned who my clients are. Knowing your target market is a great thing to know. Just appreciating the boutique side of things, a lot of people coming in as a new designer don’t understand what it takes to run a boutique, so they can’t understand why a boutique needs to take certain percentage. But having worked both sides, I totally understand.
Nora Catherine Jewelry continues to expand with a variety of stones created with imagination and care. Brown’s select pieces are exquisite and will one day be valued at a much higher retail price. Currently, her pieces retail for as little as $50.00, and as much as $250.00. She says because she is new, she has to lower the benchmark to get her jewelry out there in the marketplace. But in the not too distant future, I believe that Nora Catherine Jewlery will be fetching couture prices.
To learn more about Nora Catherine Jewelry, visit Nora Brown’s website at www.noracatherine.com, or email her atnoracatherinejewelry@comcast.net.
Interview by Kaylene Peoples
